Brean Theme Park in Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset, is reopening for the Easter holidays after a turbulent few months that saw it enter liquidation in February. The park, which has welcomed visitors to the Somerset coast since the 1940s, was forced to close temporarily after its operator ran into serious financial difficulties, with the drop in visitor numbers since the pandemic cited as the primary cause.
Unity Holidays, the company that owns and operates the wider Brean Leisure Park site, confirmed this week it had reached an interim agreement allowing the theme park to reopen from 3 April, in time for the school break. The company has been in ongoing negotiations with the park’s operator and says it hopes to have a longer-term arrangement finalised by the end of May.
The discussions have centred on returning the theme park to a smaller footprint than it previously occupied, but with improved rides, a refreshed food offering, and a better overall visitor experience. Unity Holidays’ chief executive Mark Seaton said the temporary closure had been forced by repeated operational failings by the operator, but that the company’s priority throughout had been to protect the park’s place within the local community and tourism economy.
Seaton said the new agreement being negotiated will commit to significant reinvestment in the park, which he described as good news not only for caravan owners and holidaymakers but also for the many local businesses that depend on tourism along the west Somerset coast.
The park will operate its planned schedule through the Easter period and is expected to be running normally for the duration of the school holidays.